Housing

Beacon Components

Design - Housing

In order for the beacon to be both versatile and durable, the casing that will house the internal components must be fairly lightweight, extremely durable, and impervious to many forms of damage, such as natural elements like rain or mud. In order to be certified for military use, it would have to pass tests regarding:

Fungus Resistance
Water Vapor Transmission Rate
Free Fall Drop
Drastic Temperature Drop
Leak Test (Pneumatic & Immersion)
Concentrated Load
Handling Test
Humidity Test
Salt Fog Test
Chemical Resistance
Loose Cargo Bounce
Handle Pull Test
Rain Test
Water Tight Splash Test
Altitude Test
Temperature Shock Test
Sand and Dust Resistance
Superimposed Load (Stacking)
Flammability Tests
Sunshine Tests (Solar Radiation)
Vibration (Transport Profiles)

The housing would also have to conform to the following military specifications:

MIL-STD-2073 DOD Standard practice for packaging military equipment and supplies
MIL-STD-648 Design criteria for specialized shipping containers
MIL-HDBK-304 Military standardization handbook, package cushioning design
MIL-PRF-28800 Test equipment for use with electrical and electronic equipment
MIL-STD-810 Environmental engineering considerations and laboratory tests
MIL-STD-130 Identification marking of us military property
MIL-STD-1472 Human engineering design criteria for military systems, equipment and facilities

(Source: http://www.militarycases.com/Military.html)

With this in mind, we considered several materials, including Kevlar, ceramics, and “ruggedized” plastic. Ultimately, the first two were rejected as being impractical for the task at hand because our mentor informed us that they would be excessive and not cost-effective, as military grade plastic would to the job just fine. Also, Kevlar is vulnerable to disintegration in alkali environments and is not water resistant, and ceramic does not absorb shock well.

Our beacon’s housing would be as low as possible to avoid detection as much as possible. It would range in size from a coffee can to a shoebox, depending on tests and how tightly the components can be assembled. The plastic would be rotational molded polyethylene, a high-temperature, low-pressure process that involves creating the entire piece at once, eliminating the possibility of a stress fracture at a joint. The polymer could also be manufactured in almost any color or color combination conceivable, allowing for great camouflage customizability.

Obviously, if our design was picked up by the military they would handle securing a production and distribution company on their own. However, if we were to build a prototype in the civilian world, we would select Hardigg Cases as our manufacturer (http://www.militarycases.com/index.html). They have extensive experience in the field, and routinely produce custom cases for special projects such as ours.



		The above picture is an aerial view of the beacon, with the built-in antenna labeled.



This picture shows the left side of the beacon



	The above picture shows the inner dimensions of the beacon’s housing in a front aerial, side aerial and side perspective illustration.

Housing

The housing for the beacon holds all the internal circuitry, as well as the ports for the external sensors.

	Power Source

The beacon’s power source is one of the most important parts, as it needs to provide enough power to supply the wireless interfaces, as well as some external sensors.

	GPS Interface

The GPS interface provides the precise location of the beacon through a military-grade GPS design.

	FM Interface

The FM interface provides the link for the vital information collected by the beacon back to a central command point.

	Sensors

External sensors will provide the versatility our beacon needs. These sensors are interchangeable, to provide the most possible usability of our beacon.